Air-method cleaning, sweeping, and floor polishing system



Oct. 10, 1939. o. a. REPLOGLE I AIR-METHOD CLEANING, SWEEPING, AND FLOOR POLISHING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 18, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0. 5. IPEPLOGL/,

Oct. 10, 1939. D. B. REPLOGLE 2,175,644

AIR-METHOD CLEANING. SWEEPING, AND FLOOR POLISHING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 18, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5mm .0. B. REPLOGLEZ) Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR-METHOD CLEANING, .SWEEPING, AND

FLOOR POLISHING SYSTEM Daniel Benson Replogle, Berkeley, Calif., assignor to The Ohio Citizens Trust Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio, as trustee Application August 18, 1936, Serial No. 96,667

7 Claims. (Cl. 15-16) collecting andair filtering means and a suction pipe communicating with the air filtering and suction producing means, which suction pipe may be provided with suitable cleaning, sweeping and f polishing tools, a portion of said pipe being adapted to serve as a handle grip for moving the cleaner about across the floor.

According to my invention the suction pipe is sectional in character, preferably a portion or portions thereof being rigid, another portion or portions being flexible, the various sections being detachable one from another. The power plant and dust collecting means are preferably housed in a rigid cylindrical barrel or caddy and these elements. namely the power plant. dust collector,

and housing together, constitute the body of the cleaner.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide improved means for detachably securing a rigid portion of the suction pipe or handle to the body of the cleaner.

Another object is to provide improved means for supporting the cleaner in any one of a plurality of selective positions.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the further detailed description of the invention in which are set forth for the purpose of illustration specific embodiments of the inventive thought, the details of construction being shown for the purpose of illustration rather than by way of limitation.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the cleaner embodying my invention, the floor for the normal iioor cleaning position being shown in full lines and for other arrangements being indicated in dashed lies. a

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and illustrating the catchior attaching the suction tube to the tubular body of the cleaner.

Fig. 3 is aview partly in section and partly in elevation showing the cleaner supported upon the elevated bail.

Fig. 4 is a similar view wherein the bail is lowered to serve as a supporting skidway.

Fig. 5 is a detailed view showing the supporting bail detached from the cleaner.

Fig. 6 is a lower end View showing one exhaust outlet plugged and the other equipped with a blower pipe.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the cleaner suspended from above by the use of the supporting bail.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the cleaner supported in various positions upon the supporting bail, and

the floor tool and suction pipe or handle therefor used remotely from the cleaner body.

Referring to the drawings the reference numeral [0 denotes a cylindrical housing, caddy or barrel which is composed of light material, preferably hard fiber, Bakelite or other plastic material which has the advantage of being a nonconductor of electricity. Where metal is employed aluminum ,is found suitable. One end of the caddy houses the power plant H which is shown as of the multiple unit type, each unit-including a motor and a plurality of fans, the units being separate from each other and the motors preferably rotated in opposite directions. As shown the fans are arranged to direct the air over the motors to cool the same before being discharged from the housing.

The power plant end of the caddy is provided with a detachable cap 12 having lateral outlets [3 extending in opposite directions as indicated in Fig. 6. These outlets are of sufiicient size to discharge all of the air from the power plant or through a cord ll carried by the caddy, Where the caddy is composed of material which is a non-conductor of electricity danger of short circuiting is avoided. An extension cord l5 may be attached to the cord socket arrangement, said extension device being in turn plugged into a wall or light socket.

The upper end of the caddy houses the dust collecting and air filtering elements which may be of any suitable type. Preferably an inner porous paper dust collecting bag I6 is employed together with an outer bag, receptacle or sustaining member composed of coarse mesh material such as wire, cloth, netting, matting or the like, said outer sustaining member serving to support the'inner bag and prevent contact thereof with the wall of the caddy while allowing air to pass freely therethroughl The dust collector bag It is secured to theneck I4 by a suitable plug and of a cap l1 provided with a transparent cover. The cap is removable and the bag may be withdrawn therewith, to be replaced by another bag of a similar character or where a cloth bag is employed the bag may simply be emptied of dust contained therein.

The cap I1 is held in place by means of a swinging bail l8 carried by the top of the caddy which coactswith a detent on the cap.

Extending from the top of the cap and communicating with an opening therein is a rigid curved pipe section H! which is adapted to serve as a handle grip for the cleaner and also as an inlet for dust laden a'ir. To this curved pipe an extension member 20 may be attached, here in shown as comprising a flexible hose pipe. This pipe may be used for cleaning walls, furniture and the like or may be looped as indicated in Fig. 1 and connected to an elongated draft tube or pipe 2| which is preferably rigid'and carries at the end thereof a floor tool 22. The draft tube may either be secured to the body of the cleaner as indicated inFig. 1 or may be used as an extension member as indicated in Fig. 8.

As shown the floor tool is of the double faced type. illustrated in Replogle and Queen Patent No. 1,994,872 dated March 19, 1935 or other forms of tools may be employed as for example the rotatable tool shown in my Patent No. 1,994,868 dated March 19, 1935 which is provided with an inclined connecting joint. 7

For rigidly connecting the tube 2| to the body of the cleaner, clamps may be employed. As shown two rings or straps 23, 23 are attached to the caddy one near the upper end and the other near the lower end thereof. Each of the rings 23 carries a toggle clamp 24 which is adapted to releasably engage the pipe 2| and hold the same firmly against the caddy. It will be obvious that such clamps may be readily released to permit the pipe 2| and the floor tool 22 to be moved independently of the caddy within the range of the flexible tube 20.

The lower strap carries a bail 390; similar to the bail l9, the bail 30:: serving to hold the lower cap in place. The upper strap 23 carries a long U-shaped ball 25 adapted to serve as a support or hanger for the cleaner. The'bail is hinged to the strap 23 and is releasable therefrom, being composed of resilient material.. The said bail is curved intermediate its ends to provide skids where the bail is folded against the body of the cleaner and is provided with an outwardlyextending loop or eye portion 26 which may serve as a foot or rest when the apparatus is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 8, or as a point of suspension when the apparatus is carried from above as indicated in Fig. 7.

The lower capv i2 is shown in Fig. 6 as pro-,

vided with the roller carrying casing 21 secured beneath the cap and provided with sockets 28 at each end thereof on which are adapted to be sup- .ported spring roller shanks 29 carrying end rollers 30. The rollers and supports therefor may be of the type shown in my Patent no. 1,541,280 dated June 9, 1925. The rollers permit the cleaner to be supported when the floor tool has been separated from the caddy as indicated in Fig. 8 wherein the caddy is supported by the combined operation of the spring bracket 25 and the rollers 30. The rollers also provide means for readily moving the caddy across the floor using the member I! as a handle.

Any desired means may be employed for supporting the cleaner in upright position soils to permit of the eflicient use of extension'devices for wall cleaning purposes. As shown a hose pipe, hanger or bracket 3| such as is disclosed for example in my Patent No. 1,884,870 dated Oct. 25, 1932 is supported from the overhead shelf 32 and'carries a hollow connector 33 preferably L-shaped over which the eye 26 of the ball 25 may be hung, the eye being flexible and of proper size to yieldingly engage said connector. In'this manner the weight of the cleaner is supported from the bracket with the tool 22 raised from the floor. The hose 20 may be looped as indicated and attached to one end of the L connector, while an extension member 34 which may likewise be a flexible hose is attached to the other end, said extension 34 carrying a suitable nozzle or dusting tool which may be of the type shown in my Patent No. 1,994,871 dated March 19, 1935. If desired the draft tube 2| to which the floor tool 22 is secured may be removed from the caddy and employed as a part of the extension cleaning system.

Where the use of a blower is necessary or desirable a blower extension such as a hose may be attached to one of the exhaust outlets [3 while the other is capped or plugged. Frequently such blowing operation efliciently cooperates with the operation of the suction cleaning tools, inaccessible particles of dust, dirt or the like being blown to a location where they are accessible to the suction tools.

The invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration but it will be apparent that variations and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a cleaning device of the kind described, a floor tool, a rigid suction pipe, a flexible hose pipe, an air filter, a suction producing power plant within a passage leading from the air filter to an exhaust, and an air exhaust leading from said passage, all operably connected in the order stated; said hose pipe being re-curved and the power plant detachably connected to the rigid suction pipe in the vicinity of the attached floor tool.

2. A suction cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing housing suction producing and air filtering devices at opposite ends thereof, a suction inlet communicating with the air filtering means, suction pipe sections communicating with the inlet at least one of which is flexible and another rigid, the flexible section being located between the rigid section and said air filtering means, and means whereby the rigid section may be detachably secured lengthwise of the casing, with a portion extendingbeyond the same at the power plant end thereof, for attachment of a suitable floor cleaning tool. I

3. A vacuum cleaner comprising a looped system of tubular elements, one-element of the system carrying the power plant and dust collector; and another carrying a floor treating applicator; together with means to cooperatively secure to gether the tubular elements of the system, and means for detachably securing the element carrying the floor tool in side by side relation to the other elementwith the power plant in the vicinity of the floor tool, a portion of the looping junction being adapted to be used as a handle of the cleaner, when the tubular elements are attached side by side, said elements being separable from said side by side relationship and adapted to be used with the floor tool remote from the power plant.

4. A vacuum cleaner comprising a system of tubular elements including a pair of legs connected by a loop, one leg of the system carrying a power plant and dust collector and the other leg carrying a floor treating applicator; together with means to cooperatively secure together the tubular elements of the system, and means for detachably securing the element carrying the floor tool in side. by side relation to the other element with the power plant in the vicinity of the floor tool, a portion of the connecting loop being adapted to be used as a handle for the cleaner, when the tubular elements are attached side by side, said elements being separable from said side by side relationship and adapted to be uisedtwith the floor tool remote from the power p an 5. A vacuum cleaner as defined in claim 4, wherein the loop includesa flexible'hose pipe.

6. A cleaner as defined in claim 4, wherein the loopincludesa rigid curved pipe section.

'7. A vacuum cleaner comprising a system'of tubular elements including a pair ofrigid sections connected by a flexible section, one of the rigid sections carrying a power plant and dust collector, an applicator tool detachably connected to the other rigid section, and means for detachably securing the two rigid sections in side by side relation to each other, with the power plant -in the vicinity of the applicator tool, said rigid tubular elements being separable from side by side relation and adapted to be used with the two rigid sections remote from each other and connected only by. the flexible section.

DANIEL BENSON REPLOGLE. 

